


Tales of a Hawke

by di93



Series: Marching On [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Backstory, Dragon Age Quest: Duty, Dragon Age Quest: Questions and Answers, F/M, Red Hawke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-15 03:00:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14782385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/di93/pseuds/di93
Summary: There is little that Hawke hates more than talking about herself, but Varric knows a good story when he sees it. Luckily, Bethany Hawke has no shortage of stories about her sister, and thanks to her, Varric gets to know his new friend and business partner a little better.





	1. Ogre Slayer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a long day of clearing bandits out of Sundermount and the Wounded Coast to help a prince, Hawke and Bethany followed Varric back to the Hanged Man. They were in no hurry to return to the flea-infested den that was their uncle’s home in Lowtown—not that the Hanged Man was much better, but at least it had alcohol—and Varric said the first round would be on him anyway.

After a long day of clearing bandits out of Sundermount and the Wounded Coast to help a prince, Hawke and Bethany followed Varric back to the Hanged Man. They were in no hurry to return to the flea-infested den that was their uncle’s home in Lowtown—not that the Hanged Man was much better, but at least it had alcohol—and Varric said the first round would be on him anyway. 

They ordered and sat, Varric already pulling out his deck as he made a show of sniffing the wine, though as usual, Hawke had come to notice, the dwarf never actually drank. She didn't really blame him, the alcohol in Lowtown tasted like Darktown smelled, but it was drink, and she would gladly make her thoughts go a little hazy for a while. And even when tipsy, she was more than capable of defending herself anyway. 

“So, I’ve been dying to know. What was going through your head when you fought that ogre?” Varric asked as he dealt the deck. Hawke frowned and arranged her hand, wondering how he even knew about that. She certainly hadn’t mentioned it since they met just a few weeks ago, and she doubted Bethany had, either. 

“It was in my way, so I killed it.” Then she took a long pull from her drink, wanting to think about anything but that maker-forsaken beast. 

“Never thought I would pity an ogre.” 

“Sister, don't say it like that," Bethany scolded with a sigh before turning to Varric, though her eyes avoided his, looking down at her cards instead, though he was sure she wasn't seeing them. "It had just killed our brother, Carver. He’d jumped in its way to protect Mother. And Aveline’s husband, Wesley, was hurt and getting surrounded by darkspawn too." She glanced at her sister for a second whose expression was unreadable as usual when there was a discussion about her, but it suited doubly well when playing cards. "If she hadn’t thrown herself at it, I don’t think any of us would be here now," she finished quietly. 

“Well, shit." For once, Varric swallowed down a swig of his drink. It was awful, but less bitter than the look on the siblings' faces. At the loud clang of Hawke slamming down her already-emptied tankard, Varric and Bethany both startled. 

“I need another round. Anyone else? No?” She didn’t even give them time to answer before turning and heading back downstairs. As the door swung shut behind her sister, Bethany sighed and looked down at her own untouched drink. 

“Not much of a talker, is she?” 

“No, she never has been. She will listen to other people for hours without a word, but I’m convinced not even the Maker himself could make her talk if she didn’t want to. She made Carver look chatty.” 

“You sure she actually listens?” 

Bethany laughed, and Varric counted it as a win when the dour mood lifted just a little. “Absolutely. My sister remembers everything." 

"That sounds like a story, Sunshine." 

Bethany brightened and blushed, surprised by the nickname. She'd always been quiet and a little shy, but ever since her magic manifested, she'd become even more reclusive. "Bethy" was the only nickname she'd ever had, and only from her sister. "When I was very young, we spent nearly a year living in Redcliffe. One day, I went with Mother and Sister to do the shopping and this being a city that is about as Fereldan as Fereldan gets, there were mabari carvings all around. Except I was convinced it was a bear and that it was real, not just a statue, so I started crying. I didn’t stop until Marian took me back home.” 

“Don’t tell me that’s how your mabari got its name," he laughed, looking down at the dog sitting protectively at Bethany's side. 

Bethany smiled, embarrassed, and nodded. “I was only four during that year in Redcliffe, but my sister remembered all the way up to when we settled in Lothering and we finally got a mabari of our own. She insisted we name him Bear. I’d completely forgotten it even happened until she named him.” 

Varric chuckled. “So she does have a sense of humor. Good to know.” 

"Me? A sense of humor? Perish the thought." Hawke sat back down and studied the placement of her cards, making sure no one touched them before she picked them back up. 

"You can't hide it from me, Hawke. Your sister spilled the beans. You've got a soft spot under there somewhere." 

"That's what the armor is for." 

Varric snorted. "Somehow, Hawke, I imagine things won't be dull with you around." 

"I assure you, I always keep my daggers sharp." 

Bethany just sighed as Varric laughed, and even Hawke managed to crack a smile. At least, until Varric cleaned her out. Her new friend played a mean game of Wicked Grace.


	2. Former Archer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a successful day of clearing dragons out of the Bone Pit with Aveline and the Hawke siblings, Varric was spinning tales of the elder Hawke’s heavily exaggerated fighting abilities to his usual crowds in the Hanged Man

After a successful day of clearing dragons out of the Bone Pit with Aveline and the Hawke siblings, Varric was spinning tales of the elder Hawke’s heavily exaggerated fighting abilities to his usual crowds in the Hanged Man. This time, the storyteller was talking up Hawke’s “deadly grace” which, according to Varric’s tales, she’d learned during her time as the ring-leader for an elite group of secretive mercenaries in Ferelden that did the dirty work for the nobility. 

Despite the story being more fiction than fact, as usual, his audience found the tale entertaining enough to listen with rapt attention. At least, they were engrossed until Varric started to describe the “Hawke Mansion,” and then Bethany couldn’t help scoffing. 

“If only," she muttered, breaking the spell that the dwarf's tales had cast onto his audience. 

“Oh, was that a lie?” Merrill asked, making Isabela chuckle, but Bethany just sighed longingly. 

“It's not even close." 

"Paint a picture for us then, Sunshine." 

Suddenly realizing that Varric's audience was now her audience, Bethany flushed but sat up straight and cleared her throat. "Since father was an apostate, we grew up on the run for most of our lives, at least until we settled on a farm in Lothering. It was hardly the lap of luxury.” 

“Where did you learn to fight, Hawke?” Aveline asked, more interested in hearing the truth of Hawke's skills, rather than their life in Lothering. After all, while Aveline had known the Hawkes for over a year, she still knew very little about the eldest Hawke's history. However, Marian just frowned and kept scrubbing at the plate of her gauntlet, trying to get the last of the blood off. 

“Hunting. She always went with father," Bethany explained with a sigh. 

“Hunting with daggers? That sounds difficult. Did you have to jump down on the prey from the trees? That also sounds difficult, though. Oh! What about traps? Though that would be dangerous to approach a wounded animal," Merrill mused aloud. 

“Maker, no,” Bethany laughed. “She’s always been better with a bow. She only figured out how to hold a knife without accidentally stabbing herself once she joined the guard. There were more than a few cooking incidents, growing up.” Hawke cringed as she examined the edge of her daggers, wondering if she could afford to wait to get them sharpened for another week or two. 

“You were part of the guard?” Aveline startled, rounding on the rogue. She felt both a newfound kinship for her fellow guardsman and betrayed for not knowing sooner. 

“You’re shitting me. You’re an archer?” Varric asked at the same time, looking back and forth between the Hawkes. 

“Ooh, I like a woman who can go both ways.” Isabela leaned more heavily on the table waggling her brows at Hawke, but while she didn't rise to the bait of any of their questions—or flirtations—Hawke did rise from her chair. 

“I’m headed home. Bear, make sure Bethany gets back safe too, alright?” Hawke said as she sheathed her blades, giving the mabari a pat on the head before she strode out, and the others just watched her retreating back until the door closed. 

“Why would she use daggers if she’s better with a bow?” Fenris asked, turning to Bethany, and the others did the same, all interested in the answer to the most obvious question, but Bethany just shrugged helplessly. 

“She switched to join the guard in Lothering. I haven’t seen her use a bow in years.” 

“But wouldn’t there be archers in the guard as well?” Aveline asked, drawing on her own experience. There was an entire unit of archers among her guard. Surely the Lothering guard could use a few, even if the guard overall wasn't as large hers. 

“They already had all the archers they needed, evidently. Even dating the head of that unit didn’t get her a position, not that she would’ve wanted it for that reason.” 

A cacophony of surprise broke out in response. 

“Sleeping with the captain! Well done, Hawke,” Isabela cheered with a grin, sloshing a bit of her drink onto the floor beside her as she raised it in cheers. “Knew you had it in you.” 

Varric made a sound that was some mixture of a surprised grunt and a laugh. "Whoever it was must've had guts." He paused for a moment and added under his breath, "Would be interested in seeing if they managed to keep them." 

“I didn’t know Hawke liked people! I thought she just liked pointy things and dogs. Well, her dog. I’ve seen her kill a few other dogs. But I suppose they were trying to kill her, too." 

“When the Blight hit Lothering, did he…?”Aveline asked, wondering if Hawke had lost more than she knew, but Bethany shook her head. 

“He left Lothering years before, shortly after Father died. She was offered his position after he left, but she turned it down and left the guard entirely to run the farm in Father’s place.” 

Varric scoffed. “Ditching her after losing her father? What a keeper.” 

“That doesn’t sound right. Keepers look out for their clan, they—oh, sarcasm. Nevermind!” 

“I don't know. She never talked about it." 

"Figures," Isabela muttered. 

"I think Mother always liked him more than she did. At least, it seemed that way to me.” 

Varric snorted. "That sounds more like our Hawke."


	3. Entertainer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hawke is left to her own devices in Kirkwall's alienage for a while as her sister, Merrill and Isabela get up to something that has them giggling but they swear is very important. Hawke has her doubts, but leaves them to their fun as she has a bit of her own.

Hawke leaned against the outside wall of Merrill’s alienage home, waiting on Bethany and Merrill to finish up… whatever they were doing. Something about magic and books, supposedly, and with the grin Isabela had as she followed them in and the giggling that the two girls did, Hawke wasn’t sure she wanted to know what they were actually up to. Still, she waited for the group since they were all going to head to the tavern together to make sure that Merrill didn’t get lost again. Even with Varric’s ball of twine, the elf still rarely managed to get where she was going without some “detour” or another. 

As she waited, though, she watched a small group of children running around the Vhenadahl, playing tag. Still, there was one girl sitting on the stoop of one of the buildings, just watching the other children enviously. 

“You’re not going to join your friends?” Hawke asked gently, kneeling down near the girl. She startled, large eyes getting even wider in both surprise and fear at the human approaching her. Once she recovered from her surprise, she gave a muted shake of her head and looked away. Hawke followed her gaze, seeing her bloodied feet and frowned. Hawke wondered if it was someone who had done this to her or if it had been the filth that saturated the ground of all the alleyways that had caused the harm. 

Hawke turned into her bag and pulled the elfroot from it, holding it out to the girl. 

“Do you know what to do with this?” she asked, but the girl shook her head again. “This is elfroot. If you chew it, it can help numb pain, or you can crush into a sort of paste and cover your feet with it before bandaging them and they’ll heal more quickly.” She explained, but the girl didn’t make a move to reach for it when Hawke held it out to her, and Hawke held back a sigh before setting it down on the stoop next to the girl. 

“How about this, then. Would you like to see a trick?” When the girl gave a timid nod, Hawke smiled and picked up a few pebbles. Then she tossed them in the air and started juggling them, even tossing one from under her leg and another from behind her back but still managing to keep her rhythm. She grinned when the girl finally smiled. “Grab a few more for me?” When the girl shuffled over and reached down to grab a few more rocks of similar size, Hawke nodded at her. “Alright, when I tell you, toss me one, okay?” The girl nodded and Hawke adjusted the speed of her tosses. 

“Now!” 

The girl tossed the rock and held her breath until Hawke caught it and added it to the ones she was already successfully juggling. 

“Now!” she called again, and the girl threw another, and then Hawke noticed the other children crowding around to watch, too, all holding their breath and then clapping as Hawke managed to keep it going with five stones. They repeated until the girl ran out of stones, and then Hawke caught them all in her hands and gave a little bow to her audience, all of them clapping gleefully. 

“I see you haven’t lost your talent.” 

Hawke turned to see Bethany and the others standing behind her, grinning and… wearing makeup and dresses. Well, Bethany and Merrill were dressed up. Isabela looked the same as always but with an extra-wide self-satisfied grin. 

“And I see that your very serious business was just an excuse,” she said with a roll of her eyes even as she wore a smile. “Are we ready to go, then?” 

“Unless you’ve more tricks to perform?” 

“That was the lot of them, I’m afraid.” The others started off, but Hawke paused for a moment and turned back to the girl on the stoop who was looking shy again. She kneeled down and set down the rocks before pointing at the elfroot. “Promise me you’ll use it and I’ll teach you to juggle the next time I come by, okay?” The girl quickly grabbed the elfroot and nodded with a smile that Hawke returned before catching back up with the others. 

“You’re late,” Fenris called as he folded what seemed to be yet another hand, judging by the growing pile of coin in front of Varric. The others turned to look up at the group that arrived, and Varric’s brows lifted, seeing the two who had makeovers. 

“I see you’re getting yourself ready for your noble life, Sunshine. You and Daisy going to a gala that you didn’t invite us to?” 

As she sat, Hawke saw Bethany struggle to hide a pleased smile with a roll of her eyes, but there was no hiding the flush on her cheeks, showing even with the powder on her skin. 

“What’s wrong with a girl looking pretty just for it’s own sake?” 

Varric chuckled. “Nothing at all, but if the two of you put in the effort, the rest of us may as well make it worth it.” He gave Bethany a wink before calling over Norah and ordering “the best there is” for the ladies, not that “the best” was much when at the Hanged Man, but it was enough to make Bethany and Merrill laugh, which was all he really wanted. As Norah left, he turned to Hawke with a raised brow. “What about you, Lady Hawke? Couldn’t figure out where to hide a dagger in a corset?” 

Hawke snorted. “I don’t clean up well. I’ll stick with being the muscle.” 

“Or being the entertainer,” Bethany added with a smirk, making Hawke sigh as the others looked to her in question. 

“Entertainer?” Aveline asked, looking back and forth between the siblings. 

“She was juggling! She’s quite good at it too,” Merrill chimed in, and Bethany nodded. 

“She’s been doing it since we were young. Would always do it to keep me and Carver distracted when Father and Mother were out.” 

“Well, Hawke, if you don’t manage to earn enough for the expedition by fighting people, you could always be a street performer in Hightown.” 

“Yes, and while I’m at it I could distract the darkspawn with my sleight of hand tricks, too.” 

The dwarf laughed and they got on with their night, joking and ribbing each other and losing their coin to Isabela and Varric as they laughed and grumbled.


	4. Poison Maker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hawke is hunting for mushrooms on Sundermount and drags a few of her friends with her, despite how much they complain, and Aveline ends up slightly unnerved by Hawke's knowledge of poisons.

“Hawke, are you certain it will be here?” Aveline asked, more used to fighting than staring at the ground, looking carefully for mushrooms. 

“It’ll either be here or in the deep roads, and wouldn’t you rather look here?” 

“I’m a city dwarf, not someone who goes hiking, Hawke. Can’t we just buy some?” 

“The poison works better if we use the blightcap variety, and last I saw, Slovitius only had ghoul’s mushroom.” 

“But Martin sells crow venom in the Hanged Man, why not just get that instead of bothering with all this fresh air?” 

“If you want to waste money on his diluted stock, I won’t stop you,” she said, moving farther away as he grumbled to himself. 

“Should I be concerned about how much you know about poisons, Hawke?” Aveline asked, but Hawke stayed silent, just hunting for her prize. She knew she’d seen some of the deep mushrooms she needed somewhere around the top of Sundermount a few months ago, and the weather hadn’t changed yet, so surely it would still be around. 

“Ever since she joined the guard back in Lothering, she’s been studying herbalism,” Bethany supplied. “You know as well as anyone that her poultices heal faster than anything you could buy from a merchant in this city.” 

“I’m not saying it’s not useful,” Aveline admits. “It’s just… worrying, is all. Sometimes I half wonder if all of Varric’s tales about you before the Blight are true.” Hawke snorts, but Varric speaks up, not one to pass up the opportunity to do something more interesting than mushroom hunting. 

“Hate to tell you, Sunshine, but your sister definitely had to have lied to you about joining the guard. It was just for your own protection, of course. She wouldn’t have wanted to drag you into the dirty work that the Teyrns had her doing.” 

“Oh, Dear Sister, how could you lie to me. I would have kept your secret safe,” Bethany followed up dramatically, and Hawke and Aveline looked at each other before they both rolled their eyes, getting on with looking without the pair. 

“Don’t you see, Sunshine? She was just trying to protect her family. If the Teyrns had known, she you could have been used against her or targeted by their enemies. Orlais may have come after you! She could never let those bastards get their hands on her sister.” 

“Oh of course, thank you for saving me from those dastardly Orlesians. How could I ever repay you for your noble sacrifice?” 

“You could start by actually helping me find the mushrooms so we can kill the last group of conspirators in the Blooming Rose before Joanna gets to them,” she suggests dryly, not even looking up at the pair of actors. 

“See? Even now, she still secretly helps the nobles of Fereldan, especially now that your cousin is the wife of the Arl of Redcliffe, she can’t keep you secret any longer, and she has to make sure that you stay out of their reach, even so far away as Kirkwall.” 

“Wait, the Hero of Fereldan is your cousin?” Aveline startles, looking up between Bethany and Hawke. 

“We don’t know her personally, but yes, she’s an Amell just like us,” Bethany responds and Aveline just shakes her head. 

“Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me as much as it probably should.” 

“I wonder if Flemeth just has some interest in helping our family?” Bethany proposed with a shrug, but Varric latched onto the idea. 

“I’m going to have to steal that for later, Sunshine. Witch of the Wilds, helping a once-noble family restore their name and become the Heroes of Fereldan and Kirkwall.” 

“Maker, Varric, please. Talk about my cousin all you like, but don’t lump me in with that,” she said with a shiver. That was the last thing she wanted. All she wanted was enough coin to keep her sister safe from the Templars and her mother comfortable. 

“Who says I was talking about you, Hawke? Maybe Sunshine here will be the Hero. The mage Amells, saving Thedas,” he said, shooting Bethany a wink who rolled her eyes even as she laughed. 

“While marrying an Arl like my cousin would be… nice, I suppose, I’m not sure I’m cut out to be the hero of anything.” 

“This is your story, Sunshine, make yourself the hero of whatever you want.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this story, Solona Amell is married to Arl Teagan because he's way too freakin' smooth even when Redcliffe is being overrun by corpses. I love him and will never not be upset by the fact that I can't actually romance him.  
> If anyone else has a thing for Teagan/Warden fanfics, I beg you to read "Teagan's Chance" by CherieoftheDragons because sweet Maker it's a beautiful work and I need more like it.


End file.
